Starting next week, Verizon will charge a $20 fee for smartphone upgrades

MacRumors obtained a memo on Thursday that outlines plans for a new $20 upgrade fee the carrier is expected to introduce next week. According to the memo, Verizon will add a new $20 flat rate fee for any smartphone upgrade on a device payment plan or purchased at full retail price.

As the memo notes, nearly everyone is going to be affected by this new fee, including customers looking to participate in Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program.

You might be wondering why Verizon is saddling its customers with a new fee. The company states in the memo that the upgrade fee will “help cover our increasing support cost associated with customers switching their devices.”

As Verizon explains at the end of the memo, it isn’t the only carrier charging an upgrade fee. AT&T charges $15 for every additional phone and phone upgrade on AT&T Next and Sprint charges $30 or more for upgrades. T-Mobile is the only carrier left that doesn’t have an extra fee for upgrades.